Young Swedish Firm Designs Bike Palace for Philadelphia

The hot young Swedish firm We Are You came third in a competition to design a new bicycling center in Philadelphia. (They must be really young- entry criteria include only those who graduated later than 2007). Its mission: "to promote bicycling in all its forms, and become a social hotspot for bike commuters, messengers, biking tourists and racers."

The façade is made of the bikes themselves, "properly displayed to mark the site in the city and encourage more people to use the iron horse as a means of daily transportation."Click To Enlarge

The entrance floor holds a public bicycle repair space where you can fix your bike, hang out with your friends and take a bike-building course. There is also a store where you can rent bikes, buy a new commuter friend or just top up the old buddy with some shiny parts. Here you will also find "Le Ravitaillement", a cafe/urban feedstation where you can pick up sandwiches, water bottles and croissants on your way to work. The other floors holds showers/changing facilities for bike commutators and an office for the local bike advocacy group.